Record Number of Lake Trout Killed in Yellowstone LakeBy rowdyrob

Around 366,000 non native lake trout were netted and killed this year, marking a record year for Yellowstone Lake. The efforts for killing the non native lake trout are to try and restore the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout population. The size of the lake trout killed are a positive sign, as there are fewer large fish and small fish. The Park Service also thinks they have found a positive way to recycle those dead fish. It entails using the carcasses to smother the trout eggs and kill the embryos to limit reproduction. It has showed to be very affective in lab tests, with a 100% mortality rate.

Lake trout were first detected in Yellowstone Lake in 1994. In the last five years of the netting program, the Parks Service has killed about 1.5 million lake trout.